JEFFERSON TWP — Charlotte Ruediger of Summit Township is getting up every day and going through the motions of life since the disappearance of her daughter, Butler County native Darlene Harbison, 59.

She continued that plan with tears in her eyes Saturday morning, as more than 80 friends, family members and strangers spent the unusually balmy day participating in the second search for Harbison.

“If they find her today, I’ll take care of myself tomorrow,” Ruediger said.

The search was held within a five-mile radius of the Cabot American Legion post off Route 356, which was used as the staging location.

Harbison, a 1981 graduate of Butler High School, had been living in Frazer Township, Allegheny County, and was last seen Sept. 11, according to family members. After returning home from a camping trip with her daughter, no one was able to reach her.

Harbison's daughter asked police to do a welfare check on her mother Sept. 11, Ruedinger said. According to Frazer Township police, Harbison's disappearance is being investigated by Allegheny County homicide detectives after the welfare check raised concerns.

Terry Kuhns, chief of Frazer Township police, said Harbison's boyfriend, Eric Gibbs, 57, was considered a suspect in her disappearance. He was found dead by apparent suicide on Sept. 15 in West Deer Township, police said.

Ruediger said Saturday morning that due to the forensic evidence police found at the scene of Gibbs’ suicide and in a car he used, she has no hope of her daughter being found alive.

She said Harbison’s Suzuki motorcycle also is missing, which caused police to predict Gibbs might have staged a motorcycle crash in an effort to perpetuate another cause of death.

Ruediger said she does not think that is the case, as many family members who are hunters and know the terrain near Harbison’s home have searched the area and found no sign of Harbison or her motorcycle.

The grieving mother said she did not trust or warm up to Gibbs from the first time she met him, calling him a manipulative influence on her daughter.

“It’s a classic case,” Ruediger said of Gibbs’ control over her daughter.

She said surveillance footage shows Gibbs making two trips to the car wash after Harbison went missing, which she thinks was meant to wash blood off the car, but forensic evidence remained on the underside of the vehicle.

Ruediger said hunters may eventually find her daughter’s remains if the organized searches are unsuccessful.

“But I just hope it’s not some young kid,” she said through tears. “It just might ruin it for him for the rest of his life.”

Searchers at the Cabot American Legion were placed in groups of five to seven and sent to one of 26 sectors within the five-mile circle around the Legion.

Brian Gallagher of Summit Township came to search with some of his fellow Eagle Scouts because he knows Harbison’s family, as her brother-in-law was the group’s scout master.

“I feel like we’re strong, healthy young men and we have the skills, so we should be here,” Gallagher said. “Our ultimate goal is to help the family find closure.”

Linda Smith of Armstrong County, who is Harbison’s cousin, was amazed at the turnout at both search events.

“It’s overwhelming, the amount of love we’ve gotten,” she said. “Every day, I’m hopeful.”

She cautioned all who might find themselves mixed up with someone like Gibbs.

“If it don’t feel right, get out,” Smith said.

Her sister, Kathy Smith of East Butler, said Harbison had a great sense of humor and was a loyal friend.

“She didn’t deserve this,” she said as she watched the searchers head out. “No one deserves this.”

Their brother, Dan Smith of Summit Township, can’t believe his cousin is missing and presumed deceased.

“You see it all the time and you never think it will happen to your family, but it can,” he said.

Betty Hoffman of Summit Township, who is Harbison’s sister, said she wants people to know the good things that have happened as a result of her family’s tragedy, like the two searches where family, friends, acquaintances and strangers searched equally as hard for her sibling.

“I feel blessed because so many people came out,” she said.

Hoffman also disliked Gibbs and the way he tried to isolate Harbison from her large and loving family.

“He caused all kinds of problems between my sister and I,” she said.

Hoffman has one request that can be fulfilled by anyone who wants to help the family.

“We are asking for prayers,” Hoffman said. “God is in charge.”

Ruediger will continue to teach classes at her ceramics shop and perform all the requirements of daily life until her daughter, who is never a second away from her thoughts, is found.

“It gives me something to do,” said the obviously exhausted mother. “What am I going to do, sit in a chair and cry all day?”

She had a good feeling about the search on Saturday as she waited at the Cabot American Legion, whose commander donated the space for free to serve as home base for the search.

“If the Lord wants us to find her, we’ll find her today,” Ruediger said.